Dev in hot water with college cops over decade-old Columbine Massacre RPG

Super Columbine Massacre RPG! developer Danny Ledonne is back in the news after being banned from Adams State University last month by the campus police department for, among other things, having "created a post-Columbine video game that recreates the horror of the Columbine HS shooting."

That fact and others were used to justify branding Ledonne a 'public safety concern' at the Colorado college, where he had previously taught as a visiting professor.

Ledonne's decision to release Super Columbine Massacre RPG in 2005 is not the only reason he was barred from campus -- you can read the campus police chief's reasoning, which include potentially valid complaints about Ledonne's behavior on campus, in his open letter of concern about Ledonne. However, it's notable that creating the game is explicitly listed as the first justification for banning him from the school.

In an open response two days later, Ledonne explained that "I created 'Super Columbine Massacre RPG!' [as] a free role-playing game designed to understand the Columbine school shooting by using the video game form as a lens of examination....in doing so, I felt we might move closer to understanding and reaching actual solutions to the ongoing epidemic of school shootings."

Of course, this is far from the first time Ledonne has found himself in hot water over his game -- in 2007 Super Columbine Massacre RPG was removed from the Slamdance game competition at the last minute, and Ledonne went on to speak publicly at conferences and festivals about the breadth of games as a critical and artistic medium.

Ledonne went on to produce a documentary about the experience, Playing Columbine, which a group of ASU students plan to screen this week in a show of support.